It's been a long time since I set up my network, and over time the competition for bandwidth has grown. From time to time, channels have become crowded. We would adjust channels and antenna placement by trial and error.

How nice it would have been to have had this app. Wifi Analyzer is just delightful. It graphically shows the signals it finds, what channels they are on, and how strong they are, and it is just great to be able to walk around with the phone and see it all. And it's free.

Another app I love is Google Translate. While I've used Google Translate from time to time on the web, it's even more useful on the phone since you probably already have it with you when you need it.

It's nicely integrated with speech and with texting. While it's not perfect, it's a great resource beyond pointing and gesturing. Just make sure it gets the speech to text right: e.g., :"robotics trip" vs. "robotic strip". Common words and simple phrases come through OK if spoken carefully.

The selection of languages is also pretty amazing, and it works in both directions in a conversational mode. When I was at Goodwill South Florida, I showed them it could not only handle Spanish but also Hatian Creole.

So this is one more tool just to have for those times when you just can't find the word in Spanish or don't have a clue how to say it in Korean. And the price is right.

After trying out a variety of tools, my finger seems to gravitate to HootSuite on my Droid. Its interface is just simple and clean. I can flip between my home feed, lists, etc., and easily use it to post, retweet, and so on. It works well as a web app on the desktop, too!

That said, I've not explored the Pro version or spent any money. For what I do, the free version seems to be sufficient.

Some may find this a bit strange, but I love Prognosis - Your Diagnosis, by Medical JoyWorks ! Although it is called "One of the five best apps for Doctors", it won the prize for the Best Health App at the World Summit Awards for Mobile Apps, 2012 and has millions of downloads.

I've been using it for at least a year, and amazingly find that I have not killed too many patients although I have absolutely no medial training. The app presents you with a patient, allows you to examine the patient and select some tests, and then choose the appropriate treatments. After you discover how well you did, it provides a thorough differential diagnosis writeup that is very educational. I also enjoy reading the comments by other users of the app, mostly doctors or medical students, who may agree or differ with the treatments prescribed.

It's just a blast, to pick off a case or two while waiting for an appointment or before bed. Try it out!

I tried to send a text by voice, but when I looked at the result, it was a string of gibberish. I thought that maybe my phone had messed up, and so I tried again. Again, there were no word breaks, and no words that I could distinguish at all. That's when I realized that it was my eyes, dummy! My texts had been sent just fine. And when I got the reply, I COULD NOT READ IT! And my Droid would not speak the received text message, either! I was reduced to using a phone call.

Now that works better when you can see to look up the numbers, since sometimes it just doesn't find the number you need... that's another story.

But I figured that there had to be a great app out there that would read your texts to you... and I found one.

Sonalight's Text by Voice will read your incoming messages out loud when they arrive. You can even set it to turn on when you put the phone in a car dock. Many times I've received a text while driving, and really wanted to know what it was, but could not take my eyes off the road or hands off the wheel. How nic Save e to be able to hear it!

Text by Voice has great promise, because it is completely hands-free, which is perfect if you're driving and want to tell someone you will be late or where you are, without touching the phone. Or when your eyes are just not working, since it will read your message to you before you send it, as well as read your incoming messages to you. I think I will like having it available!

(Note: you may need to search for Sonalight to be able to find the right app. There are others with similar names. Here is the link.)

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